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Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Lake Atitlan, Guatemala: Santa Cruz: Santa Elena Church

Santa Elena Church, Santa Cruz, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. April 2016.

Ah, so many churches to walk into in the world. Can one ever tire of visiting churches?

Yes.

I think maybe historic houses of worship in destination lands are like fast food, in a way. Low-hanging cultural fruit, one on every corner, easy to enter. And we can feel culturally virtuous upon visiting same. But even a diet of fast food wears, tasty though it may be.

Decades ago, a brother and I traveled together to Western Europe. If we saw a church, pretty much, we went inside. History! Art! Architecture! But there came a point when we agreed that we did not care to enter even one more Romanesque, Gothic, or any other 'esque or 'ic for the duration of our trip. And we did not.

In Caucasus Georgia, I also reached my fill, to the disappointment of my hostess, Neli, who wished me to appreciate the unique historical, architectural, or spiritual nuances that each and every Georgian church possessed.

But I had not yet reached the saturation point in Guatemala when I visited Santa Cruz, so when I saw the doors to the Santa Elena Church open, I went in, of course.

Santa Elena Church, Santa Cruz, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. April 2016.

Santa Elena Church, Santa Cruz, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. April 2016.

Santa Elena Church, Santa Cruz, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. April 2016.

Santa Elena Church, Santa Cruz, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. April 2016.

Santa Elena Church, Santa Cruz, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. April 2016.

Santa Elena Church, Santa Cruz, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. April 2016.

Santa Elena Church, Santa Cruz, Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. April 2016.

I didn't do much in Santa Cruz other than visit the church and the café. There was a small farmer's market happening in a building off the square, and I bought some fruit.